Service Learning Think Tank: Books and E-books

Written by a former college instructor with extensive service learning experience, this brief book will help students understand the value of service learning, find a appropriate placement, and have a more rewarding field experience. This book can be applied to any course where students are required to fulfill some kind of learning service requirement. Undergraduates.

It is clear that service-learning has the potential to yield tremendous benefits to students, communities, and institutions of higher education. Increased student learning has been well documented. As communities gain new energy to meet their needs and greater capacity to capitalize on their assets, service-learning enables higher education to fulfill its civic responsibility. When service-learning lives up to its potential to lead colleges and universities to transform themselves into fully engaged citizens of their communities and the world, its ability to bring about positive social change is limitless. To be successful, service-learning must be grounded in a wide range of solid, reciprocal, democratic partnerships. Building Partnerships for Service-Learning assembles leading voices in the field to bring their expertise to bear on this crucial topic. Faculty, administrators, student leaders, and community and corporate leaders will find this volume filled with vital information, exemplary models, and practical tools needed to make service-learning succeed. Comprehensive in scope, Building Partnerships for Service-Learning includes: Fundamentals and frameworks for developing sustainable partnerships Assessment as a partnership-building process The complex dynamics of collaboration between academic affairs and student affairs Partnering with students to enhance service-learning How to create campuswide infrastructure for service-learning Profiles and case studies of outstanding partnerships with neighborhoods, community agencies, and K-12 schools Partnerships for collaborative action research Exploring the challenges and benefits of corporate and international partnerships The dynamic relationship of service-learning and the civic renewal of higher education Building Partnerships for Service-Learning is the essential guide to taking service-learning and partnerships to the next level.

Numerous studies have chronicled students lack of trust in large social institutions, declining interest in politics, and decreasing civic skills. This book is a comprehensive guide to developing high-quality civic engagement experiences for college students. The book defines civic engagement and explains why it is central to a college education. It describes the state of the art of education for civic engagement and provides guidelines for designing programs that encourage desired learning outcomes. In addition, the book guides leaders in organizing their institutions to create a campus-wide culture of civic engagement.

Reading literature has often been described as transporting, but it has less often been considered as having an impact on real communities. Yet, reading literature can transform one's reading of the world and vice versa. In Community-Based Learning and the Work of Literature, the authors make the case for cultivating already-existing relationships between literature and public engagement. Written for faculty and staff in literature and humanities programs, this book provides innovative ways to incorporate community-based learning (CBL)-the attempt to link the work of university classrooms with communities at large-into literary studies. This book examines how community engagement re-imagines academic work in the humanities, proposing new approaches to scholarship and pedagogy in literary studies. The chapter contributors-all scholars of English, foreign language literature, and cultural studies-respond to three questions: How can literary theory inform CBL? How does community service transform our assumptions about literature and the literary aspects of everyday life? In what ways do readings in cultural studies extend to the question of civitas, or the creation of a vibrant community life? Answering these questions, the contributors move literary studies beyond the lecture halls and toward the formation of learning communities that revise our conceptions of the human condition, construct an expanded and active sociological imagination, encourage compassion, and address issues of social justice. By linking literature and life through service-learning, the authors show how literary scholars can harness the power of their discipline to transform as well as inform.

Educating Students to Make-a-Difference covers a range of issues related to service learning, addressing the “who,” “why,” and “so what” of service-learning experiences. It provides information that will aid in the development of service-learning programs and courses. The in-depth studies on student volunteerism found in this book will show you how incorporating student service objectives into your curriculum can improve your students’self-esteem and school involvement, as well as alleviate depression and problem behavior. Educating Students to Make-a- Difference will enhance your knowledge and understanding of volunteerism and its many benefits, showing you how to ignite the volunteer in each of your students. By encouraging volunteerism, you'll increase your students’problem-solving and leadership skills, as well as their awareness of social issues, and see the positive impact service learning has on students, faculty and the community. Educating Students to Make-a-Difference gives qualitative and quantitative assessments of attributes that predict volunteerism in student populations and the social values that are developed or enhanced as a consequence of service-learning experiences. You'll learn about student predispositions and motivations for community service across a variety of student populations. In addition to promoting moral and social values, service-learning opportunities present educational benefits as well as benefits to personal and professional growth. You will see this as the book explores: the “who”, “why”, and “so what” of service learning educational benefits of service-learning opportunities self-esteem and self-efficacy faculty benefits comparisons between volunteers and nonvolunteers motivations and predispositions for student volunteerism selection and retention of student volunteers Your colleagues will want to borrow your syllabus after seeing the results of your new community service incorporated class material. Educating Students to Make-a-Difference gives you the insight on student patterns and volunteerism and data to service learning activities that enhance your students’educational experiences.

Employing community-based learning with adults presents unique challenges and opportunities; it requires an analysis of the adult-learning literature as well as identification of service-learning practices that will be effective with adults. In this volume, drawing upon adult-learning and service-learning literature and case studies, scholars and practitioners articulate best practices in community-based adult learning and illustrate its implementation. Adults are increasingly called upon to become involved in the body politic Strengthening their communities promoting change enlivening our democracyCompeting with the call for civic engagement are the demanding priorities of modern life that adults face in the workplace, at home, and in their community. In community-based learning, universities partner with local organizations and nonprofits to provide experiences that promote the growth and development of both students and community residents. Careful project design is crucial to the accomplishment of these laudable outcomes. This volume provides a valuable guide to service-learning professionals meeting these challenges. This is the 118th volume in the Jossey-Bass quarterly report series New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, an indispensable series that explores issues of common interest to instructors, administrators, counselors, and policymakers in a broad range of adult and continuing education settings, such as colleges and universities, extension programs, businesses, libraries, and museums.

The recent expansion of service-learning initiatives throughout American higher education is accompanied by the risk of idealistic and exuberant experimentation. Motivated by a great need for conscientiousness in the invention and execution of service-learning partnerships, Partnerships for Service-Learning distills a collection of important and enlightening case examples, at once readably anecdotal, substantively rigorous, and critically reflective. University presidents, academic officers, student affairs administrators, directors, deans, faculty, student leaders, and K12 administrators who oversee programs with outside partners will benefit from this enlightening work.

"It is hard to overstate the importance of this book to the field. The research presented here should contribute significantly to those responsible for improving program effectiveness or advocating for this kind of pedagogy. The careful research and thoughtful commentary provide a wealth of insights about service-learning and how best to do it." -Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning "A groundbreaking book that unearths what all service-learning researchers and practitioners need to know." -Andrew Furco, director, Service-Learning Research & Development Center, University of California at Berkeley This timely volume is the first to explore service-learning as a valid learning activity. The authors present extensive data from two groundbreaking national research projects. Their studies include a large national survey focused on attitudes and perceptions of learning, intensive student interviews before and after the service semester, and additional comprehensive interviews to explore student views of the service-learning process.

An Adventure in Service-Learning is a well written and easy to read book which introduces the newcomer to service-learning and provides the seasoned practitioner with an analysis of this most interesting teaching method. Its discussion of learning will be of interest to educationists and its consideration of service will be important to those who are concerned about community. The author examines examples of service-learning in the areas of project management, leadership and management consultancy, providing an understanding of how the method can work in any subject or discipline.

Subjects: Service learning -- United States; Student volunteers in social service -- United States; Community and college -- United States; Education, Higher -- Aims and objectives -- United States; Electronic books

The focus of this book is on the ways in which service learning and multicultural education can and should be integrated so that each may be strengthened and consequently have greater effect on educational and social conditions. It offers a significant attempt to forge a dialogue among practitioners of service learning and multicultural education. The overriding theme is that service learning without a focused attention to the complexity of racial and cultural differences can reinforce the dominant cultural ideology, but academic work that seeks to deconstruct these norms without providing a community-based touchstone isolates students and schools from the realities of the larger communities of which they are part. Although the chapter authors provide varied perspectives on the benefits and challenges of integrating multicultural education and service learning, they all are committed to a vision of education that synthesizes both action and reflection. None of the authors pretend to have all the answers to what this integration should look like, nor do they believe that today's social problems are easily ameliorated through education. Rather, they share theories, practices, failures, and triumphs in order to further the conversation about the importance of aligning what educators say about the world and how they act in and on it. These authors share the view that multicultural education is truly transformative for students only when it includes a community action component, and likewise, service learning is truly a catalyst for change only when it is done from a multicultural and socially just perspective. It is their hope that the ideas explored in this book will further the work of those who share a commitment to the integration of action and reflection.

The Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship (JCES) is a peer-reviewed international journal through which faculty, staff, students, and community partners disseminate scholarly works. JCES integrates teaching, research, and community engagement in all disciplines, addressing critical problems identified through a community-participatory process.

The Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship (JCES) is a peer-reviewed international journal through which faculty, staff, students, and community partners disseminate scholarly works. JCES integrates teaching, research, and community engagement in all disciplines, addressing critical problems identified through a community-participatory process.

Accounting -- Study and teaching (Higher); Service learning; Electronic books

-A student-friendly, self-directed guide to service-learning-Develops the skills needed to succeed -Clearly links service-learning to the learning goals of the course-Combines self-study and peer-study workbook formats with activities that can be incorporated in class, to give teachers maximum flexibility in structuring their service-learning courses-Promotes independent and collaborative learning -Equally suitable for courses of a few weeks' or a few months' duration-Shows students how to assess progress and communicate end-results-Low priced-the ideal companion to disciplinary course readings-Methodology and activities extensively tested at Portland State University-Written for students participating in service-learning as a class, but also suitable for students working individually on a project This book is intended as a self-directed guide for college-level students who are engaged in service-learning. Though addressed principally to students participating in service-learning as a class, it is also suitable for students working individually. The authors' goals are to enable the reader to derive the greatest benefit from the experience - in terms of providing meaningful service to the community partner, developing his or her skills and knowledge, and connecting back what she or he learns to course objectives and the framework of their discipline.Service-learning requires students to take on new roles and to pursue learning in ways fundamentally different from traditional courses. This book begins by setting the context, explaining the differences between service and volunteerism and linking service-learning to the larger issues of citizenship and democracy. It then provides activities, exercises and other resources to develop students' skills of reflection, teamwork and cultural competence; and to help them plan, work with community partners, exercise leadership and manage change. The authors provide a framework for students to assess their progress and communicate final results to all stakeholders.By linking service-learning to the learning goals of the student's course, this workbook constitutes the ideal companion to disciplinary course readings. It is equally suitable for courses of a few weeks' or a few months' duration. The exercises can be undertaken by the students by themselves, or together with their peers, and can be incorporated as class activities by the teacher. This succinct and conversationally-written guide will engage and motivate your students while developing the skills to succeed in their service-learning.

Service-learning, the integration of classroom instruction with community service projects, is rapidly gaining momentum as a successful teaching and learning strategy that benefits both students and their communities. Quick Hits for Service-Learning presents more than 80 examples of innovative curricula, developed by educators in a wide range of disciplines, designed to combine community service with instruction and reflection. Seven chapters offer tips for classroom activities that focus on the education of children and youth; civic awareness, engagement, and activism; language, literature, and communication; global studies and local outreach to exceptional populations; the study of history, the social sciences, and the arts; business, industry, and the health sciences; and the teaching of research and other "tools of the trade." Brimming with ideas that busy faculty members can easily adapt to their own classrooms, this book is a valuable reference for faculty new to the field or seasoned practitioners looking for fresh ideas.

Build relationships between students and their community, while encouraging the development of important life skills. This resource helps you integrate service learning into your curriculum. After defining service learning and connecting research to practical classroom applications, the authors give you the tools to launch your own program. Appropriate literature, activities lists of suggested projects, and more are included. Grades 4-6.

This volume represents a breakthrough discussion of the research issues surrounding innovative pedagogies. Using service-learning as its focus, it explores ways in which researchers and evaluators can study a teaching and learning approach that has multiple goals, including both academic and affective development. The chapter authors show how to study a topic that is multilayered, complex, and involves the ways in which individuals make meaning of their experiences. Seven challenges that researchers need to grapple with in studying service-learning are identified and addressed: defining service-learning; basing service-learning research on strong theoretical foundations; refining service-learning research design and methodology; interpreting service-learning results; disseminating service-learning research findings; improving service-learning practice; and building funding to support service-learning research. In addition, practical recommendations are provided for professionals involved in doing research on service-learning and more broadly on any form of experiential education, community service and development, or educational reform. Studying Service-Learning: Innovations in Education Research Methodology is an essential resource for researchers who are interested in studying innovative teaching and learning strategies and for students who are learning about a range of research methodologies.

Psychology -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- United States; Service learning -- United States; Electronic books

Linda Adler-Kassner; Robert Crooks 1952-; Ann Watters; American Association for Higher Education.; National Council of Teachers of English.